Good Afternoon Northern Families,

Another great week! We started on Monday with our school opening/ caring and safe schools assemblies. Some talking points for you to discuss with your son/ daughter from that assembly include:

1. Goal Setting- ambitious and reasonable academic/ social/ extra-curricular for the year- write them down and commit to them.
2. Commit to getting involved in at least one extra-curricular at Northern this year.
3. Know where to seek help- administration, guidance, hall monitors, social work, Skylark, Academic Resource, CYW. Check and see if your son/ daughter know who and where these resources are in the school.
4. Respect yourself, others, and our community.
5. Chart of Consequences- what consequences might be faced if #4 is not followed. See the agenda link HERE for details.
6. Electronics/ social media- please see # 4 and 5.
7. Valuables- please leave them at home. Lockers need to be for your property only, still advise valuables be left at home. Please do NOT leave valuables in change rooms.
8. It is our expectation that students attend class every day and arrive on time.

Number 8 is of great importance for a wide variety of reasons. Currently our enrolment is checked weekly by the TDSB to determine whether we need additional staff. It is imperative we have students recorded as present during the month of September to put us in a strong position for this process.

 

Last night we held our curriculum/ meet the teacher night (the first in person since 2019!). It was a great turnout. Thank You for making time to visit the school, meet some teachers, and supporting your student(s). A huge thank you to our teaching staff for making yourselves available last night. Thank You to stage crew and Pals for your assistance. Another thank you to our Buddies for playing such and essential role making these events run smoothly!

WellNSS:

Hey Northern! WellNSS is back and ready for the year! As Northern’s mental health association, we discuss all things mental health and mental illness. WellNSS’ main priority is to spread awareness and foster a community where discussing mental health is encouraged, to offer resources and strategies to promote mental health and reduce the stigma around it. You can keep up with all of our events and activities by following our Instagram @northernwellnss. If you are interested in getting involved as a general member or volunteering during events please join our google classroom! Our new google classroom code for the 2022-23 school year is 3qo5khn. Everyone is welcome!

Thank You to our Buddies- student leaders who have been a visible presence in our hallways all week. Whether informally chatting with students, answering questions at the “buddy booth” in the lobby, or welcoming new senior students to the school, your help is greatly appreciated- thank you.

International Day of Sign Languages

50. us celebrate two special events next week: International Week of Deaf People and International Day of Sign Languages. For more information please visit the World Federation of the Deaf website. https://wfdeaf.org/iwdeaf2022/

 

Want to know what is happening at Northern every day? Check out the NSS Air Announcements

 

A reminder that the first School Council Meeting has been moved to Tuesday September 20^th.

Here are the “Five Things You Need to Know about Northern Next Week”:

1. Tuesday: Caring and Safe Schools Meeting @4pm in Heritage Room
2. Tuesday: School Council Meeting @6:30pm in the Library
3. Wednesday: 9:55am Late Start PLC
4. Wednesday: SAC Club Fair During Lunch (back field weather permitting)
5. Thursday: Blue, Red, and Gold Activities and BBQ on the back field at lunch

Caring and Safe Schools Meeting

The NSS Caring and Safe School Committee will be meeting Tuesday September 20, 2022 at 4 pm in the Heritage Room. The committee meets 4 times through the school year and is comprised of members from the staff, student and parent of Northern. New members are welcome. In the event you are unable to attend this meeting please send your contact information to Tiffany Peel (tiffany.peel@tdsb.on.ca) to express your interest in joining future meetings.

School Council Meeting

School Council meeting - Tuesday, Sept 20, 6:30 pm in the Northern Secondary School Library (basement) - hear the principal's report, meet the outgoing School Council, and find out plans for the upcoming year and details for the October election (all Northern parents are welcome to run; no experience needed).

Wednesday is a late start at 9:55am (PLC).

The Special Education departments (Learning Disabilities, Gifted and Deaf/Hard of

Hearing) will meet with the staff to review accommodations for students who have Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and to work with teachers on effective strategies for students with varying needs.

SAC Club Fair on the Back Field During Lunch

Come and discover some of the amazing ways to get involved at Northern!

 

Thursday: Blue, Red, and Gold Activities and BBQ

On the back field at lunch. Come out to the back field with a few dollars to purchase snacks/ BBQ and participate in our fun activities on the field! (wear red, blue, and/ or yellow if you have it!)

Grade Nine One to One Devices

(TDSB Chromebooks) will be distributed by the end of September (we hope, as it is based on when the devices are delivered). If you would like to opt into the One to One Device program, please ensure you do so in the Permission Click forms that went out yesterday.

 

13031. student calendar can be found here: CALENDAR (please click the link once on the page). Please note the change in date of the first School Council meeting on the calendar (now September 20^th). student agenda can be found here: AGENDA se are both links to the school website where tons of useful information can be found.

 

School Council Update:

As the school year is underway, we wanted to bring these opportunities to your attention...

1) Join the list! School Council sends emails with news from within and beyond Northern to help you support your student's academic success. If you would like to be included on our mailing list to receive news "for parents, by parents", please email nss.school.council@gmail.com with the subject line, “Count me in”.

 

2) School Council meeting - Tuesday, Sept 20, 6:30 pm in the Northern Secondary School Library (basement) - hear the principal's report, meet the outgoing School Council, and find out plans for the upcoming year and details for the October election (all Northern parents are welcome to run; no experience needed).

 

3) All About Accommodations: a Youth Rise Up live call - Wednesday, Sept 28, 7pm - parents and students are invited to join Dr. Todd Cunningham (Bright Lights Psychology) for a live call to discuss accommodations for learning differences - what they are, which ones work best for you, and how you can advocate better to make sure your teachers are helping you be successful. Email nss.school.council@gmail.com with "Accommodations" in the subject line for a link.

 

4) Getting Off to a Good Start - Thursday, Sept 29, 7-8 pm - Wondering how to support your student’s success this year? Join Susan Schenk (Occupational Therapist, Author/Speaker, founder of Shift Your Thinking) for helpful stories, insights, and tools for understanding your student’s learning style and needs in an effective and manageable way. Presented by the Academic Resource Committee for all students and parents at Northern and beyond. For a webinar link, email nss.school.council@gmail.com with “Good Start” in the subject line.

 

 

 

Guidance Updates: September 16, 2022

 

1. Semester 1: Last day to Request a course drop: November 16, 2022.

Please note, the last day to request to drop a semester 1 course is Wednesday, November 16, 2022.

 

2. Save the Dates: Upcoming Guidance Events
   1. Grade 9 Homeform Guidance Visits: start week of Sept 19, 2022
   2. Grade 12 Homeform Guidance Visits: start week of Sept 26, 2022
   3. Scholarship Lunch Workshop: September 29, 2022
   4. Post-Secondary Evening Presentation & Fair: October 26, 2022
   5. Youth Employment Lunch Workshop: week of Nov 21, 2022

 

3. TDSB Day School E-Learning Registration
   Day School e-Learning Semester 1 courses are open for registration until 4pm on
   September 23, 2022.
   Grade 11 and 12 students are eligible to apply for an e-Learning Day School Semester 1 course if they have a spare in their semester 1 timetable.
   Click the link here for more information.

 

4. TDSB Night School Registration - Full Credit: In- Person & Remote
   School Registration Semester 1, 2022 – REGISTRATION HAS BEEN POSTPONED until TBA
   Deadline to Enrol: September 29 @10am
   Continuing Education Night School Courses are being offered both as in-person and remote delivery this year.

 

Click here for more information.

See your Guidance Counsellor for more information.

 

5. Stay Informed: Sign-up for your Guidance Google Classroom:

Stay informed! Get all in info! Join your graded Guidance Google classroom!

Grade 9 Google Classroom code: 4ixv2jl

Grade 10 Google Classroom code: kmv6fcz

Grade 11 Google Classroom code: twdxca6

Grade 12 Google Classroom code: hfg74ws

 

6. Guidance Counsellors work with students by last name alpha:

Melanie Stassis: A, S, U-Z

Leslie Usin-Rojas : B-E, T

Sean Magee-Saxton: I, J, M-R

Jennifer MacPhee: F, G, H, K-L

 

Have a Concern?

Please familiarize yourself with the this document outlines the process to raise concerns at the school. If you have general inquiries, please reach out to the appropriate Vice-Principal by alphabetical last name:

Surnames A to G: Mr. Eric Halling 416-393-0284 ext. 20013 (eric.halling@tdsb.on.ca)

Surnames H to O: Ms. Jessica Pearson 416-393-0284 ext. 20012 (jessica.pearson@tdsb.on.ca)

Surnames P to Z: Ms. Tiffany Peel 416-393-0284 ext. 20011 (tiffany.peel@tdsb.on.ca)

 

 

Northern Secondary School Foundation

Welcome to New Parents and Guardians. From the Northern Foundation.

The Northern Foundation is a charitable organization started in 1999 by parents, alumni and staff to generate funds for scholarships and grants to support student initiatives. It is managed by a Board of Directors. We are pleased to distribute 40 Scholarships annually at Commencement and the Awards Assembly.

If you would like further information about NSSF, visit our website at nssf.ca or follow us on Instagram @northernssfoundation. If you would to get involved in the work of the Foundation, email is at info@nssf.ca and we will get back to you.

 

Lumenus Community Services:
Lumenus Community Services provides a registered psychotherapist , Dale Callender, on-site, full time at Northern, to work in partnership with the existing school support services. The service uses an early intervention model and supports students by allowing them easy and immediate access to mental health and counselling services provided through the In-School service. Dale Callender works in collaboration with TDSB staff in order to customize supports to enhance the mental health services that they may need and wish to access. This program allows Northern priority access to Lumenus’ mental health service program, and offers students a seamless referral process to other community programs as dictated by their individual needs.
If anyone would like to consult and /or set up a time to talk with Dale, you can contact him via his email at dalecallender@lumenus.ca or drop by his office at Room 312A.

 

Have a great weekend,

Adam Marshall

Principal

Follow me @PrincipalNSS